Joanna's Blog

Darlington Fireworks 31/10/2009

Andrew, Ramsay and I headed to Darlo, and first stop was the Voodoo Mexican Cafe on Skinnergate, which is above In Arcadia - an alternative clothing shop.  It’s not obvious that there’s a Mexican there but I’d heard about the place by reccomendation.
 
We were wowed from begining to end! The setting was lovely and as its situated on the first floor we were fine to leave the pushchair downstairs. The table was set with a high chair and pumpkins with candles in them decorated the table! It was a lovely setting, nice tables, ample space and you can see the kitchen.  First came the drinks, as well as having a really good selection of wine, the lagers and beers were amazing!  We had the option of about 10 from around the world, even I as a non lager drinker had a bottle sourced from mexico!
 
Being an authentic mexican, there was no childrens menu, but the staff could not have been more accommodating! They made Ramsay some chicken and fresh potato wedges with dips and strawberries for afters!
 
The menu had 5 starters, mains and desserts on offer, all for the grand price of £12.95!  Andrew had nacho’s for starters and I chilli prawns. Delicious!  For mains it was a chicken burrito for me and chicken fajitas for Andrew, absolutley delicious, everything was fresh and sourced locally, even the salsa, sour cream and guacamole was home made, and ample amounts in every pot, along with cheese and peppers etc.  They also came with spicy rice, needless to say, home mad!
 
Andrew tends to choose Mexican dishes from most menus, even when it is a pub or Italian, but now we had the real deal there really was no comparison. We also had deserts, just to finish off nicely! But hey, for the price you couldnt say no!
 
When the bill came in at £36, I could not believe it! 3 beers, 1 diet coke, 3 course meal for Andrew and I and a 2 course for Ramsay!  All in all a divine dining experience, very welcoming, very relaxing, more than accomodating, and above all the food and drink was top class!  Can not reccomend this place enough!  We will definetley be returning!
 
Next to the fireworks, where unfortunatley my camcorder battrey went (i do now have the hang of the thing so my next day out will look like its shot by a professional!). 
 
The park was filled with families, children and couples and there was anticipation and excitement was in the air!
From the very first bang it was a spectacular!  They chose to host their fireworks on Sat 31st October to celebrate 40 years since man landed on the moon.  The fireworks were all in time to music which began with David Bowie’s Ground Control to Major Tom, then on to Prodigy – Sending Out Of Space and more, the overall result was class! One i can not put into words! 

It was really breathwaking, the fireworks were gigantic, it was obvious a lot of work had gone into it and it showed.  I was worried Ramsay would cry, only being 20 months old, but he loved it! He kept pointing saying ‘look look’. The whole park was filled with people, rides, and space themed pieces of art, there was even a giant ‘moon’ floating around in the sky line of the park.  Well Done Darlington, you couldn’t have got this display more spot on! And by far the best display yet!